Anna Kendrick is all into '50/50'

TORONTO — The last time young Anna Kendrick visited the international film festival here, her performance in “Up in the Air” resulted in a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, not to mention a win as “Best Breakout Star” at the MTV Movie Awards.

Avid listener: Kendrick lends an ear as the "50/50" therapist.

Earlier this month, the now 26-year-old Kendrick came back for the 36th annual festival as a player in “50/50,” starring as an inexperienced therapist assigned to counsel a suitably shaken young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) recently diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

The often amusing and touching film, opening Friday and inspired by screenwriter Will Reiser’s battle with the devastating illness, also features Reiser’s pal, Seth Rogen (doubling as producer), as well as Bryce Dallas Howard and Anjelica Huston.

Among other things, the versatile Kendrick, a Tony Award nominee (for the 1997 musical, “High Society”) discussed her “50/50” adventures, the future, and her role as the chatty Jessica Stanley in the immensely popular “Twilight Saga” during a recent face-to-face interview at the Park-Hyatt Hotel.

What made you pursue this role?

That’s a good question. I should say the role was offered to me over Christmas 2009. I then met with (director) Jonathan Levine, and I just got really excited about the character. At a certain point, I was confused because someone had told me my character was based on a real person and that my dad (in the movie) was a therapist, so I was just a therapist because I thought that I had to be one.

Then, I found out that wasn’t the case and we just got to build her from the ground up, which was great. I was mostly really excited about doing it because of Will Reiser’s writing, plus the kind of unexpected humor in really honest situations. It wasn’t a cancer movie with dark jokes about cancer. It was just a movie that showed things really honestly, particularly how things could be perversely funny in this situation.

I liked how vulnerable Katherine was: how thin her facade of confidence was, her kind of softness and vulnerability just at the edge of this confidence. That was really sweet and really exciting because I had just been promoting “Up In The Air,” where I played a really strong character. It was just exciting to play someone who was a little more lost, who was really sympathetic or empathetic, I suppose, and who just wanted to help people but was going about it in all the wrong ways.

Did you do much research?

I met with a young woman who does not exactly do the same thing as Katherine, but something similar, and she was incredibly helpful. She actually wrote me, basically, a file for (Gordon-Levitt’s) Adam, just as she would for any of her clients.

She was talking about all the things when she first started out that she was thinking about and trying to keep herself in check, trying to make sure that a patient wasn’t transferring inappropriate attachment to her. She also said you have keep yourself in check, that you need to be thinking about that person as a patient and a client, not as someone you have an unprofessional relationship with. Katherine doesn’t do that very well.

Kendrick's Katherine provides valuable counsel.

Their movie relationship becomes friendly very quickly. I asked this woman if she’d ever done anything like that and her only response was that she had never worked with anyone close to her age. I think that was her way of saying, “No, I wouldn’t do something like that.” But, she did say that she touched her patients when she first started out, the way Katherine does in the film.

Since she wasn’t based on a real therapist, you developed this character yourself?

Will Reiser actually was seeing a therapist, but I think she was about 55. In the film, she was fictional anyway, so that was kind of great. I was talking at a Q&A recently and Will spoke to me afterwards and said, “I had no idea that’s what Katherine was thinking during that scene.” That was sort of exciting for him because I played one of the characters who wasn’t from his real life.

How much rehearsal did you and Joseph Gordon-Levitt do?

Almost none. Joe came in at the last minute (replacing James McAvoy, who had to exit due to a family emergency), and I sort of came in at the last minute, only because I couldn’t be there for a little while.

Because you were shooting a “Twilight” film?

No, it was during awards season. We shot this right after the Oscars, basically, and I got on set and I went into this little room with Jonathan and Joe, and we read through all our scenes just one time. That’s all we had time to do: read through it all once just to say it out loud. Then, we immediately went and filmed the scene. I was really impressed with Joe’s ability to make a connection on screen.

This character is quite different from Jessica in “Twilight,” right?

I think Katherine probably was just plain good at helping people. She probably was the person who her friends came to for advice, so she thought it maybe was her calling. Right now, though, she’s getting really tripped up by what she thinks a therapist is supposed to be instead of being able to kind of trust her instincts. Jessica doesn’t have that instinct at all.

But, you’ve obviously enjoyed playing that recurring role of the class gossip?

Oh, yeah. Jessica is awful, but she’s really fun. All the kind of passive aggressive tendencies just come in droves. It’s like an exorcism of all your kind of nasty, deep, dark thoughts.

Isn’t she a composite character and not really from the Stephenie Meyer books?

Well, Jessica is a character, but then there’s another character, Lauren, I believe, who’s another kind of mean girl, so they’re sort of mixed together. I try to just play the desperation of a teenage girl wanting to be the prettiest girl at school. Sure, it’s a really nasty quality, but it’s not like she wishes harm on anybody. It’s just that she’s so insecure and desperate, I guess.

Fans of the movie franchise have read the books. Have you gotten any feedback about these two characters being combined on film?

I would say people really care about the history of the vampire and the werewolves, but they care very little about the human, mortal characters. I’m lucky in that sense. No one has come up to me and said, “You know, in the books it says she looked to her left.” I think a lot of the other actors get that sort of thing, but I’ve been lucky. Everybody just sort of says I did an OK job — and then they ask me about Robert Pattinson.

What are your expectations for the final two “Twilight” films?

Now, I’m only in the first part of “Breaking Dawn” and only for about three minutes. I’ll probably get invited to the premiere, but I’m not a part of the marketing campaign.

What are you working on now?

I just finished two movies: “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and “End of Watch.”

The first one already has some buzz.

Yes, it does. I also may or may not be filming something else soon. I mean, I don’t even know why I’m mentioning it because I can’t talk about it, but I hopefully will be working for the rest of the year.

What is “End of Watch”?

A cop movie David Ayer (“Training Day”) wrote and directed, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena.

Any plans to return to theater?

It’s hard because to move to New York and do at least a half-year there is a big commitment. I’m sure something wonderful will come along at the most inopportune time, but I’ll feel compelled to do it. Until that happens, I guess I’m just going to kind of focus on movies.

Has this success caught you by surprise, or was it part of a “game plan”?

My only game plan was to not get evicted when I moved to L.A. I think that strategy is pointless because, when something that you want to do comes to you, you never really see it coming. I know I certainly don’t have a five-year plan or anything.

Toronto has been a good city for you. What was the whole “Up in the Air” Oscar and awards season like for you?

Terrifying. Really fun, but terrifying. I felt like I was sort of playing dress-up and was going to get kicked out immediately. The whole experience was sort of overwhelming. I’m just glad I kind of got through it without throwing up on somebody because I was nervous all the time.

Back to “50/50”: You and Seth Rogen only had a few scenes together, but what was it like working with him?

Great because Katherine is kind of a nervous character, but Adam is a gentleman and always sort of deferential. So, when she gets in a room with (Rogen’s) Kyle and he just sort of says whatever he wants, not changing his personality for anybody, it was always a little jarring. That was great because it made me genuinely uncomfortable, not knowing how to deal with the energy he was putting out. He’s like a big bear, so it was great to feel a little jarred by his sort of big energy.

Is he the same off-screen as he is on?

Yeah. I mean, I think he gives a gorgeous performance in this movie, but he is essentially the same in terms of personality. You always feel like he’s about to put you into a headlock. He’s really a big-brother personality.

How about Joseph?

I would say he wants everyone to feel safe and comfortable. He’s very aware of his surroundings and other people, but he’s got kind of a dark sense of humor, too. He’s not a doormat; he’s very into music and wants to learn about other people.

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